Hopson v. Texas

Hopson (defendant) was found holding a television on a burgled house's porch and was charged with burglary; she testified she believed she was stopping an in-progress burglary by a man she'd seen removing items, not realizing the homeowners had actually authorized him to retrieve his own belongings, and that she picked up the television believing it had been stolen. The trial court refused her request for a mistake-of-fact jury instruction, and the jury convicted her.